Apparatus for bending printers&#39; rules.



J. A. RICHARDS.

APPARATUS FOR BENDING PRINTERS RULES. APPLIOATIONI'ILED JULY11,1910.

, 998,394, 1 Patented July 18, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

FIG I I/vyENToP {M A/W/ COLUMIIA PLANOGRAPH C0 WASHINGTON, D. C-

9 J. A. RICHARDS. APPARATUS FOR BBNDING PRINTERS" RULES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 11,1910.

Patented July 18, 1911.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

' INVENTOH ATTORNEYS ay 7, 10 I 7 JbEl JQPTHWRMMDS WITNESSES:

LANOGRAPH CO" WASHINGTON D. C.

JOHN ARTHUR RICHARDS, OF ALBION, MICHIGAN.

APPARATUS FOR BENDING PRINTERS RULES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 11, 1910.

Patented July 18, 1911.

Serial No. 571,435.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Albion, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, have invented an Improved Apparatus for Bending Printers Rules, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in handoperated apparatus employed for bending printers rules and other thin metal bars used for various other purposes; and it is particularly an improvement upon the ap paratus forming the subject of Letters Patent, No. 707,744, granted August 26, 1902, to Joel lVelty.

The improvement is embodied in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus. Fig. 2 is a side view. Fig. 3 is a plan view illustrating the operation of the apparatus. Fig. 4- is a longitudinal sect-ion of the rotatable arm or lever to which the rule-bender or -former is secured. Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 55 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the rule-bender or -former proper detached from other parts. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the free bent end of the rule-gage rod.

The vertical standard 1 has a flared base provided with holes to receive screws, or screw-bolts, by which the apparatus is secured to a horizontal bench or table. The said standard has a central opening or recess at the top to receive a die 12 of any form required for shaping printers rules or other thin metal bars.

The standard has a horizontal arm or lever 3 which is fixed or rigidly secured thereto, and another horizontal arm or lever 2 which is rotatable on the standard. The arm 2 carries the rule-bending or -forming device 5 and the arm 3 carries the gripper or rule-clamp 6. The outer end of the movable arm or lever 2 is constructed as a handle for convenience of operation. Each of the arms or levers is flat on the top, the remaining portion of the body of the same being cylindrical and screw-threaded as shown. It will be observed, however, that the threaded portion of the lever 2 is about half the length of the threaded portion of the other lever. The rule-bender or -t'ormer 5 is wedge-shaped at its inner end and is provided with a longitudinal under rib which slides in the longitudinal groove 2 of the arm 2. The gripper 6 is similarly formed as to its point or inner end, and is also provided with a rib adapted to slide in the groove 3*. The ribs and grooves here referred to constitute guides for the rulegripper and ruleformer in their sliding adjustment toward and from the die 12. For the purpose of effecting such adjustment, I apply cylindrical milled nuts 7 and 8, which encircle the threaded portions of the arms 2 and 8, and, when rotated thereon, are obviously moved toward or from the die.

The gripper and former are each provided with a transverse recess as indicated at 5 in Fig. 6, and into this recess a portion of a nut fits, as indicated in Fig. 4. It will be noted, however, that the bottom of the recess 5 is smooth or unthreaded, while the nuts 7 and 8 are provided at their edges with smooth or unthreaded projections that work in contact with corresponding surfaces 011 the gripper and former. These milled nuts may be easily manipulated and constitute a very convenient means for adjusting the rulegripper and rule-former, and the nut 7 which is applied to the rule-former serves to adjust it very fine or coarse as conditions may require. It will be further seen that the nuts lock the gripper and former in any adjustment in which they may be set.

I provide a gage for determining the location of a bend in a rule, and the construction and operation of the same are as follows. A post 9 is set vertical on the outer end of the fixed arm 3 and is secured thereto detachably by means of a screw-bolt 11 having an enlarged milled head. The bolt passes through the hollow post and enters a threaded hole formed in the outer end of the arm 3. On one side of the post 9 is arranged a clamp 9 in which the gage-rod 10 is adapted to slide. The latter is provided at its inner end with a vertical prong having longitudinal opposite grooves 4, as indicated in Figs. 2, 3, and 7. The clamp 9 is formed by jaws'constructed on the post 9, the upper one being sufficiently elastic to enable it to be compressed and thus clamp the gage-rod 10 when the bolt 11 is screwed down tightly.

The operation of the apparatus will now be understood from the following statement. In Fig. 3, a printers rule 00 is shown arranged on one side of the die 12 and its adjacent end entering one of the grooves 4 in the bent end of the gage-rod. It passes thence between the gripper 6 and former 5 and the die 12. WVhen thus arranged, the nut 8 is manipulated to advance the gripper 6 so that it firmly clamps the rule against the die'12. The nut 7 is then adjusted to slide the former 5 into easy contact with the rule 00, and thereupon the operator seizing the handle at the outer end of the lever 2, swings the latter around a greater or less distance, say to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 8, by which operation the rule :r is bent and shaped around thedie 12. In this manner the rule is bent into a circular form.

It is apparent that if dies of different shapes be substituted for the cylindrical die 12, the devices 5 and 6 may be similarly operated to impart corresponding shapes to a rule. Thus, i-fa square or rectangular die be substituted for the cylindrical one, the rule would extend across one of the fiat faces of such die and be clamped against it by the gripper 6, and the former 5 would then be adjusted so that its pointwould easily pass the angles of the die. In other words, the point of the former 5 must be adjusted so it'can sweep and bend the rule around the angles of the die. It is apparent that the gage-rod 10 may be set with its grooved end at any required distance from the point where the grip is to be made and this will determine the distance at which the bend of the rule will begin. In other words, by use of the gage-rod, bends may be accurately made in rules at any desired distance from the adjacent end of the same. The gage-rod is obviously adjustable so that its grooved end may be set in any desired position relative to the end of the gripper 6; and furthermore, the bent end of the same may be placed on the other side of the die from that illustrated in Fig. 3. This is accomplished as 7 piece at the top,

follows. First, loosen the screw 11 which passes through the hollow post 9 and screws into the part 3, which operation allows the post 9 to be rotated half way around, so that the clamp 9 is brought on the other or right side of the post. Then reinsert the rod 10 in the clamp 9 and it will extend along the right side of the part 3 in the same way as if it be extended along the left side.

lVhile the machine is particularly intended for bending printers rules, it is apparent that, when made of large size, it may be successfully used for bending much thicker bars or rods used for various other purposes.

hat I claim is 1. An improved rule-bending apparatus, comprising a vertical standard having a die at the top, a rigid horizontal. arm provided with a screw-threaded body and a slidable gripper arranged thereon, a movable horizontal arm having a similarly threaded body and a rule-former slidable thereon, and rotatable nuts applied to said threaded portions and to recessed portions of the gripper and former, all operating as shown and de scribed.

2. An improved rule-bending apparatus, comprising a vertical standard having a die horizontal arms provided with an adj ustl e rule-gripper and -former, respectively, and a gage-rod detachably secured to the fixed arm and having its inner pendent end provided with a groove for the reception of the end of a rule, whereby it is adapted to operate in the manner described.

Signed by me at Albion, Calhoun county, Michigan, this 9th day of July, A. D. 1910.

JOHN ARTHUR RICHARDS.

Witnesses F. IV. CULVER, FLORINE VVonrHINGroN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

